The Azle News

Page 1

Volume 63, Number 8

Azle News

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

THE

www.azlenews.net

Drought still a hot topic Page 1B

Volleyball season begins Aug. 12 for Lady Hornets Page 9A

Dress code, fundraising discussed by board Girls’ leggings, solicitations by kids AISD meeting topics by mark k. campbell The July 29 board meeting hit upon a couple of subjects that brought about some robust discussion among those in attendance. Dress code The word “leggings” set off a detailed examination of exactly what would be tolerated when the bell rings for this school year Aug. 25. Under Clothing in the Dress Code section of the Student Handbook (available online at www.azleisd.net on the high school front page), the notation is: “Leggings under skirts/ dresses are considered hosiery. Skirt/ dress/top must comply with 5-inch rule.” AHS Principal Sam Robinson said this year’s dress code stresses that leggings must be “dark.” That brought about some discussion about concerns of threadbare dark leggings. White and “transparent” leggings are too revealing, so all must be “dark.” Tops must meet the 5-inch rule. Robinson noted that the 5-inch dis-

tions.” After plenty of back and forth, the group decided it would be wise to wait and see how the city rules on a no solicitation ordinance it is considering. “We want students to follow city rules,” said Loeffelholz. The city was expected to address that ordinance at its Aug. 5 meeting. If approved, a required certificate is expected to be available at no charge. The AISD committee said a maximum of one school-wide fundraiser with students doing the actually selling would be permitted. Concern was raised about children going door to door, but it was noted that it would likely be school PTOs that would oversee the fundraisers. This single school-wide activity would be exclusive from fundraising efforts by booster clubs for groups like sports, band, or drama. Student fundraising The use of individual incentives Board members Eric Loeffelholz and Sam Merck – Shannon Hart was would be prohibited. However, class absent – discussed a prior second or grade level incentives were okayed. Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Human Resources Tayna Anderson updated board members on a variety of teacher meeting that examined revising the Photo by Mark K. Campbell PLEASE SEE AISD, PAGE 2A. and student activities. AISD policy for “gifts and solicitatance is measured from the middle of the knee upward, “about the length of a dollar bill.” He added that students were not the only ones wearing leggings to AHS; some teachers do, too. He said he experimented with allowing the 5-inch distance to be raised to 7-inches last February and it was immediately abused. So the 5-inch rule is locked in. Also out is Spandex, another fashion statement sometimes made by students and adults. Then junior high principals in attendance spoke up, saying they felt their recently reviewed Student Handbooks might not perfectly line up with Robinson’s at the high school. All principals said they would take another look at their handbooks.

Chemistry Road Show

City Council previews new budget before workshop

By Natalie Gentry Four days before the Azle City Council sat down to work through the details of the 2014-15 fiscal year city budget, they held a special public meeting to touch on some of the highlights. “Each year we are faced with new challenges,” said City Manager Craig Lemin. “This year it was property values. “Although property values were up on the Tarrant County side of the city, they were down on the Parker County side.” And since Parker County doesn’t provide a breakdown of funds, exactly what caused the decrease is unknown. Lemin went on to explain that the revenues in the general fund are beginning to look better, but the utility fund, which is traditionally quite healthy, is beginning to drop due to ongoing droughts and potential climate changes. He also said that if the drought continues, the city may need to consider restructuring the utility rates to base Nothing like a mushroom cloud to get the attention of a room full of rate model. The appraised ad valorem property folks at the Azle Library. The show was put on by the Texas A&M University Road show. Photo by Natalie Gentry values in the city increased just over

$13 million which, according to Lemin, is still not back up to the all-time high in 2009. However, the meeting wasn’t full of negative news. New construction was up this past year, and the city projects small increases in sales tax and franchises. In addition, multiple personnel changes are included in the budget, including the promotion of two library

assistant positions to librarian at the Azle Memorial Library Lemin noted that there are not many capital expenses included in the budget with limited equipment purchases including a new cardiac monitor, three new police vehicles, and a new mower. He also said that the golf course is still on track to be paid off in 2016. PLEASE SEE BUDGET, PAGE 2A.

The Azle City Council previewed the 2014-2015 fiscal budget July 29. Photo by Natalie Gentry

CTE on the rise

Grass Fire Call

Voter-approved Career and Technical Education Building going up at AHS by mark k. campbell Already the scenery at Azle High School is different. With a chain-link fence running along Boyd Road and several trees removed, passersby can get an idea just how large – and view altering – the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Building is going to be. The CTE is being constructed at the same time as the competition gym, so AHS will look radically different in a year when both are expected to open, August 2015. To get to that point, however, it’s Firefighters from the LaJunta, Reno, Springtown, and Briar VFDs responded to a grass fire call in going to be crowded and busy on camthe 100 block of Hyde Away Lane Tuesday Aug. 5 at 2:03 p.m. The fire was subdued quickly, but the pus during the 2014-15 school year. Todd Smith, Director of District intense heat from the smoldering rubbish continuously smoked and threatened to reignite. Photo by Natalie Gentry Operations, said this year’s CTE stu-

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This Week in Azle History

dents will remain in one place until the new building is ready. Once it is deemed good to go, agriculture, auto shop, and industrial technology will all move in together. While the Azle football team will have just four home games this season – a rarity – parking will still be problematic for AHS with the constant construction. Parking spaces have been lost behind the annex – where the new gym is rising – as well as spaces along the drive that goes back into the cafeteria and shops. However, AHS Principal Sam Robinson has worked out a parking sysPLEASE SEE BUILDING, PAGE 2A.

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10 Years Ago In August 2004, Pelican Bay Mayor Marlyn Hawkins quit abruptly during a council meeting but was talked into staying later that night.

22 pages plus supplements

$1 Azle, Texas 76020


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